[vj_torqueaddict]

One day someone had removed the lock and put it on the seat with a note in Hindi saying - KOI FAYDA NAHIN (its of no use).

That’s a nice gesture! Could have been worse. If this was the only “barrier” then definitely “koi fayda nahin”,perhaps that’s the message he/she wanted to convey.
When I said “barrier” ( in my earlier post) it must be a deterrent for the theft in the first place. For example a gps device is not a barrier, so please don’t think that you can relax because you have gps installed. A gps would be helpful only after the vehicle is stolen. So have as many barriers(steering lock, motion sensor, enclosed gate, dogs etc) for your valuables, there is no limit. Sorry for the off topic post, wanted to clear this out.

[swoosh]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

I don't understand why he has put a price money to catch the culprits, even if they find the car after a couple of months, it will not be the same (having 1st hand knowledge), he should claim insurance after getting a noc from police and move on.

The owner is part of the Jeep Compass group and mentioned that he didn't renew the insurance on time. so it is a total loss for him if he doesn't get the vehicle back.

[Vinod_nair]

No insurance in this day and age? He can say bye to his Jeep, and make peace.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

RTO's should stop issuing the third registration sticker when getting the HSRP fitment done where it is pasted on the windshield giving out the chassis and engine number to anyone and everyone on the road.

Those are serial numbers of the front & rear HSRP plates (same etched on each plate below hologram), not engine/chassis numbers.

There's nothing on those stickers not already publicly visible (except registration date that's a quick two-second Vahan search).

[anjan_c2007]

From whatever I have heard or known about the Delhi car thefts, its a huge racket and these cars may never be found as they cross many borders to reach some non-decrepit place and end up giving tons of money pleasure to the goons.

The way the theft was executed this gang of goons seem ultra-professional. The police could gather information from all the Delhi and NCR plus surrounding Fiat-Jeep dealers about the sales and especially service personnel, who are either under suspicion or have been sacked. The expertise smacks of experience obtained at a dealership, most likely for this make/ brand and model.

One suggestion for the most stealth safety device that I came across recently. An old or a not so costly mobile with a SIM can be concealed or tucked away in a safe corner in the car where it is not at all visible but safe. The car owner needs to keep it in good working condition always. And if the car is stolen, the mobile towers can detect its location very precisely. This is especially good for cars that are parked in the open and left at the mercy of such goons.

[CEF_Beasts]

The Creta used in the video is also most likely stolen!

Hyundai Creta used in stealing the Jeep Compass was also stolen. Owner of Creta has shared video of his car getting stolen along with the below message
"hello sir,
the news which you posted for the jeep compass theft ,the creta car which is used in this theft is most probably mine ....and they stole it from oyo townhouse shivaji park on 9th december ,2020
i am eshant , my car no is
HR 51BU 7198
FIR No - 31904
kindly circulate this news from your web page , if anyone give news for my creta car , I’ll give 1lakh to that person as a reward."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rush...5450879386040/

[stallmaster]

Public Service Announcement: My foolproof(kinda) solution after lots of trial and error plus taking advice of seasoned mechanics.

1. If you are parking your car at an unsecured location, never forget to take out all the relays and fuses from the fusebox with yourself. It's a simple plug&play solution and thieves usually don't carry relays with them. Takes 2mins to put them all back. Thieves also don't have the time to troubleshoot cars.

2. Create layers of hurdles for the thieves to bypass. Never forget a car can also be towed away. Hence install spiked tire locks(ones used by cops at illegal parkings) on diagonally opposite wheels, steering lock, clutch lock and transmission lock(get it fitted at OEM workshop only). All of this hardly costs 5k in total.

A car can't be theft-proofed 100%. Only make the act of stealing time-consuming for the thief so that he moves onto other less-demanding cars.

I can't guarantee that your car won't be stolen, but all these steps=ROI of the thief gets exponentially lower. My cop friends tell me that thieves have a stopwatch timed under 2mins or less from laying hands on the car to driving it away. Just make the car time-consuming to steal.

[TrackDay]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

Just found this news about a Jeep Compass theft in Delhi.
On a related note, how safe is our tech laden modern day cars? These thefts are quite worrying for car owners.

Not safe. The first thing one has to do after buying a connected/smart car, is get rid of that stuff. It is a menace. Akin to buying a Chinese smart phone and removing all pre installed bloatware's and apps. There are things like geofencing etc., but I guess if the thieves are smart enough, they can disable that too.

Originally Posted by swoosh

The owner is part of the Jeep Compass group and mentioned that he didn't renew the insurance on time. so it is a total loss for him if he doesn't get the vehicle back.

The less spoken the better.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

From whatever I have heard or known about the Delhi car thefts, its a huge racket and these cars may never be found as they cross many borders to reach some non-decrepit place and end up giving tons of money pleasure to the goons.

True. One of the reasons I am not interested in out of state 2 or 3rd owner cars selling down here in the South. The owner could also stay active on sites like OLX and check out for his vehicle. Most likely they might change the number/paint etc. But if there is something unique, say like a certain steering wheel wrap or gear knob, he can identify his vehicle.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

One suggestion for the most stealth safety device that I came across recently. An old or a not so costly mobile with a SIM can be concealed or tucked away in a safe corner in the car where it is not at all visible but safe. The car owner needs to keep it in good working condition always. And if the car is stolen, the mobile towers can detect its location very precisely. This is especially good for cars that are parked in the open and left at the mercy of such goons.

Even though this is only useful once the car is stolen, it is still not bad. Best to keep the phone inside once you have reached home and parked the car outside. Although these guys might strip the vehicle, it gives a small window of time to track down the car.

[Panzera]

I feel sorry for the owner. Hope it was not sheer laziness on his part to renew the insurance.

Having lived in Delhi for a long time I can relate to such incidents as use to hear about them all the time. Most of us have no option but to park on the road and thankfully I never had to deal with such an incident except the minor ones where the doggos from the street use to sleep on the car during winters and eat the radio antennae.

Last year when I visited Delhi I saw people have started using wheel clampers where I use to park my car.

A similar incident happened with my cousin two years back when his 15 day old Creta was stolen. It seems the thieves were keeping an eye on his daily routine. There was always a guard around except for 30 mins during change of duty at 6:00am. The thieves used that opportunity to steal the car in 5 mins. He suspected hand of some showroom employees but that was just an speculation. He did get insurance claim in 6 months time.

After this incident I believe his neighbour use to chain his BMW to a pole and use to park his old second car in front of it.

[styx71]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

RTO's should stop issuing the third registration sticker when getting the HSRP fitment done where it is pasted on the windshield giving out the chassis and engine number to anyone and everyone on the road.

Well, if it's not the RTO, in some cases it's the manufacturer - for example, in the EcoSport, the VIN is etched in a clearly visible manner at the bottom right hand side of the front windshield.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

The theft took place a week back and the news indicate that they may have used key programmers and GPS jammers to commit the crime.

Unfortunately if this info ^^ in the opening post is correct, none of the "tracking" solutions will be helpful. These should not be the only defence as they are easy to get rid of.

Originally Posted by GTO

But if I were to park on the street, I would strongly consider one of the modern anti-theft devices with GPS tracking + geofencing + remote disable etc.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

One suggestion for the most stealth safety device that I came across recently. An old or a not so costly mobile with a SIM can be concealed or tucked away in a safe corner in the car where it is not at all visible but safe. The car owner needs to keep it in good working condition always. And if the car is stolen, the mobile towers can detect its location very precisely. This is especially good for cars that are parked in.

These low tech solutions are the best!

Originally Posted by stallmaster

1. If you are parking your car at an unsecured location, never forget to take out all the relays and fuses from the fusebox with yourself. It's a simple plug&play solution and thieves usually don't carry relays with them. Takes 2mins to put them all back. Thieves also don't have the time to troubleshoot cars.

2. Create layers of hurdles for the thieves to bypass. Never forget a car can also be towed away. Hence install spiked tire locks(ones used by cops at illegal parkings) on diagonally opposite wheels, steering lock, clutch lock and transmission lock(get it fitted at OEM workshop only). All of this hardly costs 5k in total.

[gjnnbagal]

That thief seems to be well-versed with Jeep campass, just like a well-trained mechanic at the service center (just my thought). It hardly took 3 or 4 minutes for him to enter and start the car, a well-organised robbery indeed. Also, he removed fastag/dash cam/both from upper part of windshield as soon as he enters the car.
The owner should retrospect his recently done service or after market work on his car (if any)

[Tucker48]

Seems like the thief used OBD port to start the car.
OBD lock can be a preventive measure.
But how about sticking a couple of miniature national flags on the dashboard? Appearances can be deceptive!

[Thilak29]

If street parking is only available option,Can we not remove ignition fuse to secure vehicle ?

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by ariesonu

Nevertheless, keeping a SUV in Delhi-NCR area is very risky. I remember sleeping in my humble TUV when I was on road trip & stopped for a night at my sister's place in Delhi. I had more to worry as my vehicle is Mumbai registered & of course does not have any fancy trackers like Compass.

Please don’t make it a Delhi issue. Hundreds of thousands of people have SUVs in Delhi NCR including expensive ones. It is no more dangerous than Bombay or anywhere else in the country. This was just bad luck.